Series 2009 season review - Donny Schatz

2009 World of Outlaws Season Review: Donny Schatz
Concord, NC--December 4, 2009--Donny Schatz continued to make history in
2009, placing himself in an elite company in a couple of different
categories. He claimed his fourth consecutive World of...

2009 World of Outlaws Season Review: Donny Schatz

Concord, NC--December 4, 2009--Donny Schatz continued to make history in
2009, placing himself in an elite company in a couple of different
categories. He claimed his fourth consecutive World of Outlaws title to
become just the second driver ever to do that and he also won his 100th
career A-Feature event to become just the fifth driver in the 30-plus
year history of the series to accomplish that feat.

In his second season driving for Tony Stewart Racing, the North Dakota
native won 12 times and led the series with 39 Top-Five finishes en route
to claiming the title by just 19 points over Jason Meyers, making it the
closest finish in World of Outlaws history.

"It's a great season when you can win a championship and be the most
consistent," said Schatz. "It's rewarding. I'm glad to be a part of
this. I'm a lucky guy to be part of this and I can't say thanks enough to
the guys that work hard on these race cars for me and make sure they
don't fall apart. They make sure I have a fast car and am competitive. I
have to thank Tony Stewart for what he has done for us and keeping us on
our edge."

Schatz picked up his 100th career World of Outlaws A-Feature win in his
home state at Dacotah Speedway in Mandan on August 22, putting him in the
record books with Steve Kinser, Sammy Swindell, Mark Kinser and Doug
Wolfgang as the only drivers to cross the century mark in their careers.
In his career with the World of Outlaws, Schatz has won at 53 different
tracks in 24 states along with one Canadian Province as well as in
Australia.

"It means a lot to get it," said the North Dakota native of his 100th
win. "Milestones for me though, I always get stuck on them and I am
stuck on that 100th win right now. That happened back in August. When I
tied Dave Blaney for 71 I got stuck on that one for a month or two. Man I
am stuck on that 100th one and I don't know what to say. I want to get
off it."

Schatz, who claimed the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award with the
World of Outlaws back in 1997, has been competing full-time with the
series every season since, with the 2009 campaign marking his 13th
consecutive year on the road. He has finished among the Top-10 in the
championship standings in 10 of those campaigns, with the last seven
spent among the Top-Five.

"It never gets any easier," he noted of the competition on the World of
Outlaws trail. "The longer you are out here, the tougher it gets. Every
time one of us gets ahead we get brought back 10 steps and things level
out. It seems like we are five steps behind all the time. It's as
competitive as it's ever been and I hope we can work hard to get to that
next level, I just know how much better that can be."

Among the victories for Schatz in 2009, were his second in the $50,000
Kings Royal at the legendary Eldora Speedway which is owned by his car
owner Tony Stewart. He also claimed his fourth consecutive Knoxville
National title, becoming just the second driver to ever accomplish that
feat. In addition, he was victorious at Volusia Speedway Park in Florida
twice, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Canandaigua Speedway, Lawrenceburg
Speedway, River Cities Speedway, Cedar Lake Speedway and K-C Raceway.

"The Kings Royal, the (Knoxville) Nationals, they are all big," he
said. "A race is a race. I want to win everything. It doesn't matter if
it's the Kings Royal or just a normal race. The ones that pay good are
the ones that mean more to the race team and me too. I'm just glad to be
able to get those victories and keep adding my name to that list."

While Schatz continues to make history with the World of Outlaws, he is
very appreciative of all of the folks that have helped him get to this
point and is also humbled by the success. He looks to continue racing for
many years to come.

"Nobody will ever do what Steve Kinser has done, but to be associated in
that same club is pretty cool," Schatz stated. "It's exciting to be
there and there are not many people that will ever be able to be in that
situation. If I stop racing tomorrow, man I have had one hell of a long,
good ride. I don't plan on stopping, but you never know what could
happen. You never know when it's your last day. There are a lot of people
out there that aren't as fortunate as us and get to do this. I'm just
glad to be in this situation."

While Schatz receives most of the accolades for his performance on the
track, he is quick to share the spotlight with his crew, led by crew
chief Ricky Warner along with Shane Bowers and Eric Prutzman. Warner and
Bowers have been with Schatz for all four of his titles, while Prutzman
joined the team this season and was able to celebrate his first
championship as a World of Outlaws crew member.

"I'm glad you can't clone people, because if you could clone those guys,
I wouldn't want to race against them," said Schatz with a smile when
asked about his crew. "They are awesome. Ricky (Warner) and I have been
together a long time and we disagree sometimes, but that's what makes us
better. You have to do that. We had a spell this year where we disagreed
on what the direction we needed to go to get ahead was. That set us back
a little bit, but we know what that direction is now. The most important
part is that we learned it and we didn't just ignore that situation. We
can fight and argue and disagree, but at the end of the day we want the
same result and we both dig down to do whatever we have to do to get
there. I can't say enough about those guys. It's fun to work with them
and they do their best for me and I do my best for them."

With the off-season quickly going by, Schatz is busy back home in North
Dakota. He will combine preparing for the 2010 season along with a number
of others business obligations he has to attend to. He will also mix in
some off-season racing in Australia, where he has been going every year
since 2000 and has won at least one race Down Under in each of those
trips.

"I have a lot of stuff line up," shared Schatz. "I have a lot of work
at home and a lot of remodeling at the truck stops (that his family
owns). I just have so much stuff I want to do that I'm happy to have some
time to do it. We have trade shows in Orlando and Indianapolis and
vacation in Australia. It's not too long to be off, but just enough."

Adding to his championship season, Schatz was recently named to the
American Auto Racing Writers & Broadcasters Association All-America Auto
Racing Team for the fourth consecutive year in the "Short Track"
category as a First Team honoree. He also is one of ten finalists for the
2009 Economaki Champion of Champions Award presented by National Speed
Sport News, an award he received in 2008.

The 2010 World of Outlaws season kicks off on February 5-7 with the 39th
annual Florida DIRTcar Nationals by UHON at Volusia Speedway Park, where
Schatz was victorious on opening night last season as well as in the
finale of the three-day event.

By the Numbers Donny Schatz 2009:

2- Countries that Schatz won in during 2009- United States & Australia

4- Consecutive World of Outlaws titles for Schatz

5- Penske Power positions earned by Schatz this past season, which is
awarded to the third-place finisher in the feature each night

7- KSE Hard Charger Awards to lead all drivers, given to the driver that
passes the most cars in the feature each night; Wins on half-mile tracks
to lead all drivers in 2009

8- Wins in the Crane Cams Dash to earn pole positions for Schatz in 2009

10- Tracks that Schatz won at in 2009 with the World of Outlaws

12- A-Feature wins in 2009 for the four-time champion

13- Times that Schatz was fastest in time trials to lead the series this
past season

19- Points that separated him and Jason Meyers at the end of the 2009
season

39- Top-Five finishes for Schatz to lead the series

45- Starts in the Crane Cams Dash this past season for Schatz to earn
Top-10 starting spots in feature events

54- Top-10 finishes for Schatz in 2009

100- Career A-Feature wins with the World of Outlaws for Schatz

357- Laps led this season in feature events

8908- Points earned by Schatz to win the 2009 championship
150,000 Dollars earned by Schatz and his Tony Stewart Racing team for the
title